Future Venues · The Briar Bay Cup

Tier One

Strong match on every filter. Research dossier worthy.

Bandon, Oregon

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

Soft-filter score · 5 / 6

7+ full courses — Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Bandon Trails, Old Macdonald, Sheep Ranch, Bandon Preserve (par-3), and The Commons opening 2026.

Literal "best buddies trip in America" reputation. Chrome Lake 4-BR cottages solve the lodging question for eight. Hits every filter the league has ever set.

Against the barometer

Peer of Pinehurst in stature. Cited as the top group trip in America by multiple sources.

New 13-hole par-3 course opening 2026. Walking-only tradition, caddie culture is strong. PNW fall weather trends cool + damp.

Pebble Beach, California

Pebble Beach Resorts

Soft-filter score · 6 / 6

4 courses — Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, The Links at Spanish Bay, Del Monte.

The iconic US bucket-list golf destination. Worth stretching budget once in the league's lifetime.

Against the barometer

Above Pinehurst for pure prestige, but ~$2K+ per round at Pebble itself — a budget buster.

Estimated · ~$5,000–$6,000 / man (bucket-list tier)

US Open host many times over. Ocean-dramatic coastline, historic pedigree. Lodging via The Lodge, The Inn at Spanish Bay, or Casa Palmero.

Nekoosa, Wisconsin

Sand Valley Resort

Soft-filter score · 5 / 6

4+ courses — Sand Valley, Mammoth Dunes, Sedge Valley, The Lido, Sandbox (par-3), plus The Commons 12-hole debuting 2026.

Modern architecture showcase. Strong group lodging. The best of the new Keiser-wave resorts.

Against the barometer

Modern-architecture peer of Streamsong, expanding aggressively. The Lido is the unicorn — a restoration of C.B. Macdonald's lost Long Island masterpiece.

Coore/Crenshaw + Tom Doak + C.B. Macdonald Lido restoration. Top-25 resort rankings. Walking-friendly.

Kohler, Wisconsin

Destination Kohler / Whistling Straits

Soft-filter score · 5 / 6

4 courses — Whistling Straits, Irish, River at Blackwolf Run, Meadow Valleys at Blackwolf Run.

Major-championship courses plus AAA Five Diamond lodging and a walkable village. Ryder Cup 2020 host.

Against the barometer

At or above Pinehurst for major-championship pedigree.

Pete Dye architecture. The American Club is the flagship lodge (AAA Five Diamond). Midwest in late October trends chilly.

Ridgedale, Missouri

Big Cedar Lodge

Soft-filter score · 5 / 6

5 courses — Payne's Valley (Tiger Woods), Buffalo Ridge (Fazio), Ozarks National (Coore/Crenshaw), Top of the Rock (Nicklaus par-3), Mountain Top (Hanse par-3).

Considered the most complete top-to-bottom multi-course experience in America by some critics. Ozarks fall weather is exceptional.

Against the barometer

Peer-or-above Kiawah for facility range. Setting is unique.

Johnny Morris (Bass Pro) obsessive quality throughout. A-list architect lineup. Top-25 resort rankings.

Sea Island, Georgia

Sea Island Resort

Soft-filter score · 4 / 6

3 courses — Seaside, Plantation, Retreat.

Fall weather on coastal Georgia is perfect. The most refined old-money feel in America.

Against the barometer

In the Kiawah family for coastal refinement. A notch smaller in course count.

The Lodge at Sea Island is AAA Five Diamond. RSM Classic PGA Tour host. Dining at The Tavern and Colt & Alison.

Tier Two

Passes the filters. Worth a dossier once the tier-one work is done.

White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

The Greenbrier

Score · 5 / 6

5 courses — Old White TPC, The Greenbrier, Meadows, Snead, Ashford Short Course.

Historic grand hotel est. 1778. Presidential retreat lineage. Sam Snead homestyle. The Cold War bunker tour is included.

Greensboro, Georgia

Reynolds Lake Oconee

Score · 4 / 6

6 courses — The Landing, Great Waters, Plantation, National, Preserve, Oconee.

Ritz-Carlton on-property. Nicklaus, Fazio, Rees Jones, and Bob Cupp designs. Easier flight access via Atlanta.

Pinehurst, North Carolina

Pinehurst — Return Visit

Play No. 10 (opened 2024, Tom Doak) + No. 2 + one of No. 4 or No. 8.

Pinehurst No. 10 is the new Doak design. The group already knew and loved this destination.

Kiawah Island, South Carolina

Kiawah Island — Return Visit

5 courses total. A second trip could play Turtle Point + Osprey Point + Cougar Point (Ocean Course optional).

The Ocean Cottage was the benchmark. The Ocean Course itself is bucket-list.

Brooksville, Florida

Cabot Citrus Farms

2 championship courses (Karoo, Roost) + 2 short courses (The Squeeze 11-hole par-3, The Wedge). Drive-in from South Florida.

Cabot-brand Florida outpost, Kyle Franz sandhills restoration. Original 2026 target — sold out for our locked Thu-Sun Oct 22-25 window; the group rejected the Halloween-weekend shift. Revisit for 2027+ with an earlier booking window.

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

PGA National Resort

5 championship courses — The Champion (Fazio), Palmer, Match, Fazio, Squire. Plus The Staple short course.

Salamander-operated, recently renovated. Cognizant Classic PGA Tour host, former Ryder Cup venue. Drivable from South Florida — ~1 hr from Miami. 339 rooms plus 21 cottages makes an 8-man cottage block easy.

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

The Sea Pines Resort

4 courses — Harbour Town Golf Links (Pete Dye), Atlantic Dunes (Davis Love III), Heron Point (Pete Dye), Sea Pines Country Club.

RBC Heritage PGA Tour host at Harbour Town. Deep vacation-home and villa inventory on-island makes 8-man buyouts easy. Inn & Club at Harbour Town is Forbes Four-Star.

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort

3 championship courses — Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront, George Fazio, Arthur Hills.

Oceanfront counterpart to Sea Pines. Three distinct architect-era layouts on one property. Deep on-property villa/home inventory sized for 8-man groups.

Austin, Texas

Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa

4 championship courses — Fazio Foothills, Fazio Canyons, Crenshaw Cliffside (Coore-Crenshaw), Palmer Lakeside.

Four architect-diverse courses (Fazio x2, Coore-Crenshaw, Palmer) on 4,000 Hill Country acres. Closest Texas analog to Kohler/Pinehurst breadth. Requires a flight from South Florida.

Horseshoe Bay, Texas

Horseshoe Bay Resort

3 public RTJ Sr. championship courses — Ram Rock, Slick Rock, Apple Rock. Plus Whitewater Putting Course.

Three full Robert Trent Jones Sr. layouts on Lake LBJ in the Texas Hill Country (~50 min from Austin). Strong group-home lodging but requires a flight.

Emerging

New or recently opened. On the watch list.

Rodeo Dunes
Roggen, Colorado
1 course at opening (Coore/Crenshaw). Second course in the pipeline.
Keiser family — Bandon, Sand Valley DNA. Prairie links roughly 45 min from Denver. Not eligible for the 2027 trip on course count alone; worth tracking.
Wild Spring Dunes
East Texas
1 course at opening (Tom Doak). Coore/Crenshaw second course routed.
Keiser family. 2,400 acres of dunes. Not eligible on course count yet — on the radar for late 2027+.
High Grove Golf Club
Venus, Florida
1 course (Gil Hanse / Jim Wagner). Orange groves + sugar-sand dunes.
Membership-focused currently. Watch for resort development — Florida geography is a logistical win if it expands.
The McLemore Resort / Cloudland
Rising Fawn, Georgia (Lookout Mountain)
2 championship 18s — Highlands + The Keep (opened 2025). Plus Cairn 6-hole short course.
The Keep was named 2025 Best New Course in America by Sports Illustrated. Cloudland hotel is AAA Four Diamond, cliff-edge setting. Drive ~12 hrs from South Florida or fly ATL. Editorial heat is real — worth watching as a 3rd course expands.

Borderline

Fails a hard filter today. Revisit when conditions change.

Juniper Preserve · Bend, Oregon
Fails the 3-course hard filter. On hold unless a third course is added.
Omni PGA Frisco · Frisco, Texas
Fails the 3-course hard filter. PGA of America HQ — revisit if a third is planned.
Pelican Hill · Newport Coast, California
Fails the 3-course hard filter.
Crystal Springs Resort · Hamburg / Vernon Township, New Jersey
Six courses + Zagat dining + wine cellar is amenity-rich, but editorial heritage bar sits below the Pinehurst/Bandon tier. Plan C rather than bucket-list.
Barefoot Resort & Golf · North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Four star-architect layouts on one property is unique, but the Myrtle Beach backdrop doesn't match the editorial/heritage bar of Pinehurst or Kiawah.
Forest Dunes Golf Club · Roscommon, Michigan
Three-course filter is shaky (2 full + reversible routing + par-3). Late-October weather in Northern Michigan is a real risk for the league's trip window.
Gamble Sands · Brewster, Washington
Travel logistics from South Florida are brutal (fly SEA + 3.5-hr drive). Three-course filter is shaky on a strict read.
Black Desert Resort · Ivins, Utah (Greater Zion)
Single course today makes the 3-course format impossible. Worth revisiting when the expansion delivers a second full course.
BOYNE Golf (Bay Harbor / Boyne Mountain / The Highlands) · Northern Michigan (3 sister properties)
Late-October weather in Northern Michigan kills the trip window (cold + snow risk). Also not a single-property experience — the 3 sites are spread out.

Sources

Last refresh · 2026-04-20 · Next annual refresh · Q1 2027